Mariel by Jo Ann Ferguson

soothe some of the pain she could not let anyone see.
    Not even Ian.

Chapter Five
    Rosie’s eyes grew wide again as Mariel drove the automobile through the front gate of Foxbridge Cloister. On the few occasions when the orphans came into the town of Foxbridge, the little girl had seen the impressive house crouched like a sleeping giant at the edge of the marsh. Only knowing her beloved Lady Mariel lived there kept her from being frightened by the gray monster overlooking the village. Now she would live there. The thought seemed too preposterous to be real.
    She did not fire her normal barrage of questions while Lady Mariel pointed out the various buildings connected to life in the Cloister. The little girl had not guessed so much was hidden behind the walls of the Cloister. It was bigger than the grounds of the orphanage. When the car stopped in its private barn, she found herself frozen to the seat. A man stepped out of the shadows, and she squealed with heartfelt terror.
    Mariel chuckled. “Rosie, this is Walter Collins who tends to my car. Walter, Rosamunde Varney. She will be staying with us at the Cloister for a few weeks.” Taking Rosie by the hand, she withdrew the small bag from behind the seat. “Shall we go up to the Cloister, Rosie?”
    Keeping her eyes on the strange man, the child nodded. She did not like this man who gazed at her so strangely. She risked a glance at Lady Mariel and saw she was still smiling. There must be nothing wrong with this man, because Lady Mariel treated him with kindness. She tried to shake off her instinctive distrust of him, but was glad when they stepped out into the spring sunshine and away from his glowing eyes.
    â€œGo ahead,” urged Mariel when they paused before a clump of exultantly yellow daffodils. “You may pick one, if you wish. Just don’t take too many of them. The gardeners get cranky if we take all the blossoms. They like to enjoy the beauty of their labors as well.”
    â€œI think I will leave them,” Rosie said regretfully. “They are so pretty here. If I take one, it will die too quickly.”
    â€œShall we come back tomorrow on our way to Foxbridge and see them again?”
    â€œWe are going to Foxbridge tomorrow?” the child asked enthusiastically. “In the automobile?”
    With a smile, Mariel began to walk toward the house. “Tomorrow is a school day. I think it would be best if you attended at the village school.” This was one point Ian had been emphatic on when they discussed Rosie coming to Foxbridge Cloister. He felt the child must be with others her own age instead of imprisoned with only adults at the Cloister.
    â€œSchool? Do I have to go to school?”
    â€œOf course.” She laughed. “Don’t worry about it now. Shall we go inside?”
    Mariel felt Rosie tighten her grip on her hand as they entered the Cloister. Briefly Mariel wondered what it would be like to be entering this impressive house for the first time. She no longer noticed the plastic scallops edging the ceiling or the silk wallcovering glistening in the gas lights.
    Only Phipps and the butler stood in the expansive foyer. Mariel appreciated the thoughtfulness of the staff in not overwhelming the child on her arrival. Calmly, she introduced the two adults to the wide-eyed child.
    â€œRosie?” asked Phipps. “What is your full name, child?”
    â€œRosamunde Varney, but everyone has always called me Rosie … ma’am.” She added the last as an afterthought.
    â€œThen that is what we shall call you here also.” Phipps smiled, and her stern demeanor vanished.
    Although she had done all she could to talk Lady Mariel out of involving herself in this crazy plan, Phipps welcomed the idea of a child in Foxbridge Cloister again. In the past year, she had shunted aside her dreams of staying on at the Cloister as the nanny of the children Lady Mariel would have. When the young woman